Vegas Golden Knights: Takeaways from Game 1 win against Chicago
Things went as planned in Game 1 for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Odds on favorites heading into this Western Conference Round 1 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights took care of business in a 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Robin Lehner got the start over Marc-Andre Fleury and the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy finalist went on to make 19 saves from 20 shots, despite having trouble with his skates.
Following a scoreless first period that was lacking in intensity, things livened up in the middle period.
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Shea Theodore got the Golden Knights on the board after beating Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford with a wrister, before William Carrier jammed the puck home to make it a two-goal game.
However, Chicago did a good job of hanging on in there despite being outplayed and a bad turnover from Shea Theodore led to David Kampf scoring a shorthanded goal on Lehner.
It didn’t lead to anything, though, and the Golden Knights resumed their dominance in the third period.
Reilly Smith, who was part of a dominant second-line, unleashed a wrister that went in off Crawford’s blocker and Smith lit the lamp again after getting a gorgeous saucer pass from Jonathan Marchessault before beating Crawford on the backhand.
Smith’s two goals iced the game for the Golden Knights who took a 1-0 series lead, with Game 2 slated for Thursday.
Before we delve into Game 2, however, let’s go over some takeaways we had from Game 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks…
1. Riding the hot hand
It happened. It finally happened.
While Marc-Andre Fleury is the face of this franchise, there were subtle signs throughout the round-robin games that maybe a big change was on the way.
And that’s exactly what happened in Game 1.
Vegas Head Coach Peter DeBoer opted to start Robin Lehner in Game 1, and it could be the sign of things to come.
It shocked many but then maybe it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise given that the Golden Knights broke tradition by acquiring Lehner as a pure rental at the Trade Deadline.
From the Chicago Blackhawks of all old teams.
And Lehner came back to haunt his old team in Game 1, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced to help Vegas take a 1-0 series lead.
There wasn’t a lot he could do on Chicago’s goal with David Kampf recording a shorthanded goal following a bad turnover by Shea Theodore.
Other than that, though, Lehner came up big when he needed to and he made the saves he did make look easy.
The only real blot on Lehner’s copybook was the fact that his left skate blade popped out twice, which could have made life more difficult.
If he can avoid another wardrobe malfunction then expect another strong showing from Lehner in Game 2 should he get the start.
2. Second-line dominance
The top line of the returning Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson and Mark Stone was good, but they couldn’t make their chances count.
The same can’t be said for the dynamic second-line, however.
The trio of Jonathan Marchessault, Paul Stastny and Reilly Smith were dominant and they were easily the best line on the ice.
They controlled play, kept the puck and they made sure that Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford was kept busy.
In total, that second-line combined for five points, six hits and 11 shots on goal and they won the game for Vegas.
And Smith was the star of that line with a three-point night, putting up two goals and an assist with a +3 rating in 13:29 minutes of total ice time.
Smith got the primary helper on Shea Theodore’s goal in the second period before lighting the lamp twice in the third period, effectively icing the game for the Golden Knights.
Marchessault also had himself a multi-point night after tallying an assist on both of Smith’s goals in the third period.
It is no secret that you need contributions from all four lines in order to be successful in the postseason, and a second line operating at full tilt could be the big difference for the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
3. Let’s get physical
We all know that the intensity really cranks up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hits get harder, things are tighter, chances are harder to come by and the games are a real grind and a slog.
That’s why the postseason is referred to as a war of attrition.
And that’s why the Golden Knights are perfectly built for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They have a little bit of everything but, when it comes down to the crunch, they can play a big, bruising brand of hockey.
They did just that against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1.
Vegas was structured, they made it a grind and their aggressive forecheck really put the shackles on Chicago’s big guns.
Chicago had racked up 16 goals in the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round but they were limited to just 20 shots on goal on Tuesday, and it didn’t help that the Knights swarmed them in the offensive zone like a bunch of murder hornets.
Vegas also laid on a beating but they did so in a real impactful way.
Jonathan Marchessault went at it with Jonathan Toews and that gave the Knights a bolt of energy, while the fourth-line of William Carrier, Nicolas Roy and Ryan Reaves really beat up on the Hawks.
dark. Next. Sights & Sounds from Game 1
That was evident at 9:39 in the second period when that line crashed their way to keeping the puck in the zone, before Carrier used his big body to crash the net and jam the puck home.
You have to play a hard and patient game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Vegas Golden Knights were at their physical best in Game 1.